European Auto Repair

I took an Audi here for a pre-​inspection. European was recommended by another shop that was too busy to help me. That’s a good sign.
European squeezed me in and worked straight through because they knew I was waiting. Everyone there was super polite and took the time to talk to me and show me exactly what they found. Albert found a problem that a previous shop said they fixed, and Albert was nice enough to talk to the other shop on the phone. All in all, European saved me from getting into a big headache with a car that *looked* beautiful.
It’s obvious that these guys know that treating customers right is the way to a successful service business. I’ll be back with whatever car I end up buying.

Found these folks using the national on line «TDI Forum» when I was thinking about getting a TDI. They are SO willing to talk and helpful, even if one does not agree with them about everything, such as, virtues of bio-​diesel. They are respectful and friendly and polite and relaxed and seem to be SUPER EXPERT on cars, diesels, regular fuel, all German cars. They also do a really good job on fixing cars. I started out using them because before I finally GOT a Volkswagen Jetta TDI, I had an inherited beautiful gorgeous expensive Mercedes sedan that did not use diesel. European Auto Repair did me right by that car, and then, when I found my TDI Jetta up in Ukiah, and brought it back here, European Auto Repair charged me a very reasonable fee to evaluate the just-​bought car. They gave me a detailed analysis and told me it was a good car. And hey, it is a YEAR later and that TDI is running like a top. So much cheaper to run than the Mercedes. Just now, today it is raining and I had procrastinated and procrastinated on getting my not-​working-​right-​at-​all driver’s side windshield wiper repaired. And European Auto Repair said, yeah, ok, come over here, we will put in new wiper blades for you right now, no appointment. I highly recommend this place, right over the High Street bridge.

Really great customer service. I recently went in for a routine oil service and upon going to pick up my 2002 Jetta, found that my door indicator light on the dash would not go out. Seeing as my car is not new, I know this was a coincidental situation. My automatic locking goes in & out, windows not always working correctly, etc. This was one of those things. But because the problem occurred literally as I was about to drive away from the shop, Albert, the owner took a look at it for me. He found the problem was the door latch on the driver side, which was wearing out, causing the indicator light to work intermittently. Albert took it upon himself to order a used replacement door latch and install it free of charge. I was so surprised that the shop would cover something like this for me, especially when the problem had nothing to do with the oil service I had just taken the car in for. So nice of him! I will definitely continue taking my business to his shop in the future.

I have a VW Gold TDI and found this shop through TDI owner forums. I had to replace my timing belt and wanted to make sure I worked with a well respected shop as I’ve heard that not everyone does these repairs the right way. I’m a college student who is a bit strapped for cash and I don’t know much about cars so I am a bit vary of taking my car in to get worked on.
I hadn’t had anyone look at my car for years and once I brought it in it was discovered that I had problems with the suspension and fuel injection pump as well. What I thought was going to be a $ 1500 repair was not looking more like a $ 4000 repair and I started to panic. I was basically a big pain in the butt because I kept vacillating on what to do. I would tell the shop that I wanted to do it, then I didn’t want to do it. I’m sure I was very annoying but everyone at the shop was very understanding and patient with me.
Eventually, it dawned on me that I still had a warranty on the car. EAR told me that in their experience, warranty companies never pay for anything but they offered to contact the company and handle the claim on my behalf. Low and behold the warranty company did end up covering the majority of the work. EAR even fixed some other things for me for free. In the end, I spent what I originally thought I was going to spend and got a lot more work done and the car is driving great.
I highly recommend these guys for their customer service and workmanship. It is not the cheapest place in town, but the cars they work on are not the cheapest cars to work on. Maintaining a car is expensive and if you have a major repair and want to make sure it is done right, give these guys a call.

These guys know what they’re doing! No BS’ing around! Very professional.
I highly recommend these guys to anyone with a European car, you won’t be disappointed. They run a very tight ship and the best part…
They diagnosed and fixed the problem! These guys are truly experts of their trade!

I’ve had repairs done at this shop 3 times. I have never questioned the prices or recommendations and have generally been satisfied — until my latest experience.
I knew what the problem was before I went in — I needed a new Serpentine belt and belt tensioner. On
these parts cost $ 20 and $ 60 respectively. European Auto Repair was going to charge me $ 80 for the belt and $ 220 for the tensioner. Furthermore, they recommended a series of other repairs. When I looked up the prices on the additional parts they were recommending the markup was again well over 100% — they recommended a new air conditioning compressor — $ 375 on
but over $ 900 from European Auto repair.
Needless to say I declined all repairs. I understand and expect SOME markup on part prices but 300%! I don’t think so.

Over the past 5 years, Albert has always provided good work. I highly recommend European Auto Repair on High St in Alameda.

Worked wonders on my little daily driver porsche 914, same day as well! Very knowledgable staff — would recommend to any porsche owner in a heartbeat!

Great place. I live in Alameda and always see a lot of older VW’s there. I have an 89 Golf and had to get both fuel pumps installed. Did the work in a day. Went out of the way to help me too. Pricing is pretty steep but he knows his way around euro cars. Even talked to Albert for a bit and couldn’t have been a more friendlier person.
Any problems with my car, I know exactly who to go to.

Albert is great he will go out of his way to help you get your car fixed. European Auto Repair is always honest and after my less-​than satisfactory experiences at a dealer in Downtown Oakland I have been completely satisfied here. Their prices are reasonable and service is exceptional. I had a weird electronic gremlin effecting my Audi S4 they were able to ferret out quickly and cheaply, and European cars are not known to be cheap to fix.

I’ve been a customer of European Auto Repair for a few years now. I started taking my precious volkswagen beetle and now I take my nice BMW. Their prices are always reasonable and their staff is very knowledgeable. The owner (Albert) seems to actually ‘care’ about his customers and their vehicles and he will fix the problem rather than just put a ‘bandaid’ on it to charge you less. Also they would give you a ride if you need it and you won’t have the hassle of looking for somebody to drive you around that day. This is the only place where i take my white baby (BMW). I wish more people knew about this shop, it would be more happy drivers.

I have been a loyal customer of European Auto for the past 7 years when I acquired my first BMW. Since the car at that time was on its last year of warrantee, I was a bit leary of taking it to a private shop. I then met Albert who from day one was honest and caring about me and my prized possesion. It never fails that when I take it to European Auto that I am going to get the best assessment of what needs to be done and what is best recommended for potential repairs down the road. The car is now nearly 12 years old and still running like new. If you are in need of auto service for your German made vehicle, look no further than European Auto and tell them Paul sent you! He’ll actually know who you are talking about.

I’ve been to this auto repair shop 4 times already, and each time I’ve been very pleased with the results. Yes, the initial inspection is pricey for the «Check Engine Light» problem (which I experienced twice), but each time, the mechanics here identified the issue and fixed the problem at no extra charge. The first time, it was a faulty oxygen sensor and the second time it was a blown fuse in the fuel injection system. Both times, I got to car back the same day with less than $ 200 in repair costs.
The other two times, I had broken head and tail lights, and the mechanic stopped what he was doing and installed the lights for me on the spot. I was charged only for the price of a bulbs. Now that’s service.

An honest mechanic is hard to find these days. I took my car here after I got a quote from Mercedes Benz of Oakland to replace a wiring harness in my Mercedes. Albert who is the owner, was able to do the same job at a little more than half the price. He also inspected my car and found that the previous work that was done on my car by another mechanic was done incorrectly and fixed it for me at no charge.

I brought my 1977 300D Mercedes in after just purchasing. There were several important to minor repairs it needed. The owner, Albert, was very informative on prioritizing the repairs and explaining them and the importance of each to me. The replacement if brake lines ran about $ 300, as did the drive shaft coupling thingey, both seemed pretty important. When I picked up the car, he showed me around inside the hood, and showed me how to change the oil and fuel filter by myself. I am planning to switch to biodiesel, and though he doesn’t necessary like biodeisel, he told me what to look for as potential dangers, like changing fuel lines and changing fuel filters regularly. He was nice, friendly, and prices seemed fair. A+!!

I took my A4 in for what I thought was an alignment issue and they tell me I need to put in an entirely new suspension kit. They also charged dealership rates for a simple computer check-​up. I got a second opinion and it turns out I only needed to replace one part and I saved about $ 1200 because of that. To me that makes them untrustworthy and unless you already know or use them, I’d steer clear.

Excellent place to get your foreign car repaired or maintained. The owner, Albert, and has father have owned the place for about 40 years. They were recommended to me by some friends of mine. If you have a small repair, like a light-​bulb, they take time out from what they’re doing and fix your car.